VISITOR'S GUIDE TO GALWAY

Galway is a city in the West of Ireland in the province of Connacht. Galway City Council is the local authority for the city. Galway lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay and is surrounded by County Galway. It is the fourth most populous urban area in the Republic of Ireland and the sixth most populous city in the island of Ireland.

According to the 2011 Irish Census, Galway city has a population of 75,528; however, the agglomeration is far bigger.

The city's name is from the river Gaillimh (River Corrib) that formed the western boundary of the earliest settlement, which was called Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe ("Fort at the mouth of the Gaillimh"). The word Gaillimh means "stony" as in "stony river" (the mythical and alternative derivations are given in History of Galway). Historically, the name was Anglicised as Galliv, which is closer to the Irish pronunciation as is the city's name in Latin, Galvia.

In common with many ancient cities, Galway has its own origin myth. According to this mythic version, Galway is named after Gaillimh (Galvia), the daughter of a local chieftain, Breasail, who drowned in the River Corrib. The surrounding area became known as Áit Gaillimhe (Galway's Place).

The city also bears the nickname "The City of the Tribes" (Irish: Cathair na dTreabh) because "fourteen tribes" of merchant families[6] led the city in its Hiberno-Norman period. The term tribes was often a derogatory one in Cromwellian times. The merchants would have seen themselves as Irish gentry and loyal to the King. They later adopted the term as a badge of honour and pride in defiance of the town's Cromwellian occupier.

Residents of the city refer to themselves as 'Galwegians' and, to a much lesser extent, 'Tribesmen'.

About ten years ago I decided that I would, on retirement, become a street photographer and it was then that I started planning to be in a position to be a full-time street photographer documenting the Island of Ireland. The target date was New Year’s day 2016.

In the meantime I have produced a catalog of more than 110,000 photographs the vast majority of which show Ireland as it really is on a day by day basis. It has never been my intention to present an airbrushed romantic view of the island and I certainly do not intend to do so in the future.

I photograph what I see and I will continue to do so even if this policy does upset some with vested interests.

Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially also named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remaining area and is located in the northeast of the island. In 2011 the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain.

Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just over 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.

There are six main cities on the island: Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Derry, Limerick and Galway. With the exception of Derry I have photographed these cities on a regular basis over the last five years and every time I visit I always find something new or interesting.

In 2016 I hope to extend my activities to include many of the smaller cities and large towns. I have, however, already photographed Athlone, Drogheda, Maynooth, Kildare, Balbriggan, Bray, Trim and Greystones. In 2015 I had hoped to visit Waterford and Wexford but had to cancel due to a death within the extended family so these may be my first destinations, outside Dublin, in 2016.